The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Yemen reports that at least eight civilians are killed and 30 wounded in an IDP centre in Haradh in Northern Yemen.

“This is shocking,” said Lise Grande, Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen.

“Any attack on a civilian site is unconscionable and a clear violation of international humanitarian law…The people who have fled their home to IDPs sites have lost so much already. An attack like this cannot be justified—ever.”

A fragile ceasefire around Yemen's port city of Hodiedah, which went into effect in late December, is a fragile lifeline for millions of Yemenis on the verge of starvation. The port city is a key entry point for humanitarian aid to the country and vital to efforts to prevent famine and outbreaks of disease.

Human Appeal Ireland believes the ceasefire must be extended if relief organisations are to be able to get urgent aid to the 13m people in Yemen that are facing starvation.

Yemen Will Face Worst Humanitarian Crisis of 2019

132 million people in 42 countries will need humanitarian assistance and protection in 2019, according to the UN. Yemen is the worst crisis with 75% of the population in need of aid.

Yemen is being described by the United Nations as 'undeniably the world's worst humanitarian crisis by far'.

"Yemen is on the brink of a major catastrophe," said Mark Lowcock, UN Humanitarian Chief.

"In Aden, I met emaciated children so malnourished they could barely open their eyes…Humanitarian assistance helps many of these children recover. But I also heard heartbreaking stories of children relapsing again and again because their families simply can't afford food or proper medical care."

About 19 million lack access to clean water in Yemen. According to the UN, two-thirds of the population of the war-torn country do not have access to safe drinking water.

It ranks very low on the Human Development Index (160th out of 188, Ireland ranks 7th) which measures the health education and income of a country’s citizens, and did so even before the conflict in the country started

79% of the population is poor compared to 49% in 2017

GDP per capita has declined 61% in the last three years

War in Yemen

In early 2015, hostilities broke out in Yemen. After almost four years of conflict, hopes for peace in the country seem very remote.

2.9 million women and children are acutely malnourished; the number of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition has increased 90% in the last three years

It is estimated that every ten minutes, a child perishes from preventable causes. This is because much of the country’s infrastructure – hospitals, bridges, transport – has been ruined. Three quarters of the country is reliant on humanitarian aid.

There is in effect no system of providing safe drinking water, meaning there are widespread outbreaks of diseases like cholera affecting over a million people. Because access to medical care is severely reduced, this causes countless preventable deaths.

The crisis in Yemen continues to exact a heavy toll on the lives of the civilian population.

UN Human Rights Office has documented that between 26 March 2015 and 8 November 2018, there have been a total of 17,640 civilian casualties in Yemen, including 6,872 dead and 10,768 injured

People in need of urgent humanitarian assistance: 22 million people including 9.9 million children

Number of Internally Displaced People(IDPs): 2 million (76% are women and children)

320,000 children under 5 at risk of Acute Malnutrition

3 million People are in need of WASH assistance Water-Sanitation-Hygiene

1 million People in need of basic health care

Human Appeal has been working in Yemen since 2014. We have built a team of dedicated staff and a network of partnerships with other NGOs in the country. This means that we can deliver real lifesaving solutions to the problems that beset the civilian population.

Hunger as a Weapon of War

Human Appeal stated in our report from 2018 that hunger is being used as a weapon in Yemen.

International charity Save The Children has recently released a report supporting our claim. It shows how hunger is rising in the world's war zones. There is a dangerous shortfall in humanitarian funding in conflict zones. There is also an increase in the level of barriers being set up against NGOs trying to deliver aid.

We demand that politics to be taken out of the provision of food and medical supplies. Despite this being an international crime, that there has never been a single referral to the International Criminal Court. This is a heinous and inhumane treatment of civilians. This has to stop.

See Human Appeal UK’s Media & External Affairs Co-ordinator, Charles Lawley's interview on how starvation is being used as a weapon of war.